Resource Management

Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge manages habitat for wildlife through a variety of practices. Raising and lowering water levels and mowing aquatic plants helps maintain wild rice beds on Rice Lake. Prescribed burning reduces woody brush in fens. Timber harvest and alder mowing sets back natural succession, creating young forest and forest openings. Creating snags, or standing dead trees, helps create new den trees for cavity-nesting birds. Planting trees connects forest blocks and creates new young forest. Invasive species are detected early and treated to prevent negative impacts to the habitat. An active program of species and habitat inventory, monitoring and research drives habitat improvement and management adaptations - using the right management practices in the right places at the right time.